John O'Brien

As CEO and Founder of Poolwerx Corporation, John O’Brien leads one of the world’s leading swimming pool and spa service companies.

John O’Brien’s passion and experience both in franchising and the swimming pools and spas aftermarket is difficult to rival. He is an experienced hands-on leader and entrepreneur with a talent for bringing order to disorganised industries.

John founded Poolwerx – his 5th successful franchised network – a quarter-century ago and has grown it into a global, multi-award winning system. In 2017 Poolwerx was recognised by the Franchise Council of Australia as ‘Franchise System of the Year’ (for the 2nd time) and in recent years, Poolwerx Franchise Partners have been awarded ‘Best Multi-Unit Franchise’ three times over.

John is an inductee into the FCA Hall of Fame, past Chair of the World, Asia Pacific and Australian Franchise Councils and is a founding member of the Australian Federal Government’s (ACCC) franchise advisory group, currently bringing order and accountability to the sector as a whole. Now a global brand, Poolwerx is expanding rapidly in the USA and now is number three in its industry in the world. It is by far ANZ’s most prominent pool retail and service group with more than 100 stores and 400 service vehicles operating throughout more than 350 territories.